“Joy D. has been placed on bed rest for the duration of her third trimester. She welcomes afternoon visitors.”
“David W. is having rotator cuff surgery on the 13th and we’re organizing meals for his first two weeks of recovery.”
One of my characteristics that my mother is most proud of is my kindness. I am a kind person. And one of the things I wanted from a faith community was a place to express kindness. I wanted to receive emails like those above where this personality trait of mine could comingle with others in a robust environment of good will.
What else am I looking for? A place where I can meet with other people and talk about the power of God and religion in our lives. Unabashedly. Where it’s not impolite to mention the role that God plays in our mental well-being. Where you can ask other people, “What do you do when you feel God isn’t listening to your prayers?” I value a secular political climate but a place for everything and everything in it’s place. Ideally, I want a secular government and a churchy church. And I don’t think a churchy church needs to be a conservative or judgmental church. I’m no less religious because I’m a feminist, or pro-choice.
The UU church is fitting me nicely in the kindness realm. Folks are friendly at the services and there’s plenty of activities to get involved in. The theme for February is Love and during today’s sermon the pastor Katherine Bert invited those interested to participate in a Love in Action activity where you could volunteer to participate in things such as providing rides to other congregants and providing occasional dog walking services for congregants in need as well as things like helping in the church bookstore or working on the grounds committee.
I’m attending UU services most Sundays and I look forward to them. I enjoy the songs that the minister chooses although I can’t personally carry a tune in a bucket. I like that a variety of traditions are incorporated into the services. The social activism isn’t what I’m there for but the gist of the message aligns with my beliefs so even if I’m not participating in the rallies in front of the church after the sermon it’s all good. And I enjoy being in a kind environment.
Where UU isn’t working as well is in the actual religion part. They specifically and on purpose don’t have a creed. As rumored, they don’t mention Jesus much. In fact, Rumi is a more consistent presence than Jesus.
And yet I keep going back. Simply because come Sunday morning it’s where I want to be. There are orientation classes that I’ve signed up for. I missed one in favor of a Black history month lecture at MSU but they repeat. When I first started attending I assumed I would either join or not join the congregation. I’m finding it’s not that simple, and this is not a quick process.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I’m waiting for God to give me a thumbs up or thumbs down, but I’m giving myself plenty of time to weigh my options. Plenty of time to think things through. Time to feel inspired to act. It’s not like there’s a time limit.
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